1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to floating fountains for placement in a body of water such as a pond or the like. More particularly, this invention pertains to a floating fountain having illumination of an ornamental spray pattern.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Owners of pools or ponds may desire to provide additional ornamentation to such landscape features by adding a fountain. In addition to aerating the water in the pond or pool, the fountain provides an aesthetically pleasing ornamental spray pattern. Lighting enhances the ornamental appearance. Examples of floating fountains are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,931,382; 6,375,090; 6,435,422; 6,565,940 and 6,755,349. Floating fountains can be very expensive and come in a wide variety of sizes (measured by the horse power of a pump motor). Commonly, the cost increases with the size of the fountain.
The construction and design of a fountain should be selected to maintain quality while providing a simplicity of components to reduce cost and maintenance. Further, it is desirable for a fountain owner to be able to adjust a spray pattern from time to time. The aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,931,382 describes an aerating fountain with a selectable nozzle to alter a spray pattern. Manually changeable spray nozzles are also known. However, manual changing of nozzles can be very time consuming. Indeed, one manufacturer of a floating fountain advertises that a nozzle can be changed in 20 minutes (www.otterbine.com (Jan. 14, 2005)). This is a long period of time.
In addition to changing a nozzle spray pattern, it is desirable to provide lighting for a fountain. Fountains typically come with incandescent lighting, which may be attached to a float or may be separately provided as part of the fountain installation. Such incandescent lighting is expensive and bulky as well as providing only limited lighting opportunities. U.S. Pat. No. 6,607,144 describes a fountain pot which includes a set of light emitting diodes for illuminating a fountain in the particular apparatus shown in the '144 patent.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a floating fountain of a design to permit low cost manufacture while retaining high quality performance, to permit ready interchangeability of fountain nozzles to alter a spray pattern and to provide an improved illumination of a spray pattern.